Senate Approves Budget

Members of the State Senate prepare to debate the budget. (WBAL's Robert Lang)

The Maryland Senate has approved the state's $39 billion budget.

The Senate voted 41-6 for the budget bill on Thursday. All 35 Senate Democrats and six Republicans voted for the measure. Six Republicans voted against it.

The Senate also approved a companion measure that is needed to balance the budget for this fiscal year and the next on a 42-5 vote.

Together, the measures leave a $111 million cushion and nearly $800 million in the state's Rainy Day Fund.

The budget legislation includes a provision that prohibits the Maryland Department of Agriculture from continuing work on regulations to reduce phosphorus pollution until an economic study has been completed.